The Peninsula War has long been a favourite period of mine, ever since, as a boy wargamer, I bought my first Hinchliffe 25mm figures for a scandalous 6p each (I'll have to get around to finishing painting them soon). This period does, however, have one serious drawback for wargaming - the feeling that the French don't really stand much chance against the British. The perception is of columns of sweating Frenchmen toiling up interminable hills, while, lying down behind the crest, snug and safe from any nasty artillery fire, the lines of grinning redcoats wait patiently for the first moustachioed visage to poke itself over the horizon. Then it's: "Attention! Present! Fire!" Perhaps another volley for luck, then a swift bayonet charge to get rid of any French who haven't yet got the message, and back to camp for tea and muffins. The francophobe in me doesn't really have a problem with this view, but it doesn't make for the most exciting wargames. In truth, the reason that the above scenario happened so often has much to do with Wellington's almost uncanny ability to foresee what his enemy were going to do and to ensure that there were British troops in the right place to stop them doing it. You have only to look at the scrape Beresford got himself into at Albuera to realise what a difference this makes. Nevertheless, if we decide to refight any of the famous battles of the Peninsula, we tend to start with the good old Brits in their historical positions and let the poor misguided French attack them. However, one of the best things about wargaming is the opportunity to refight a historical battle with only the information the commander on the spot had at the time. Take, for example: THE BATTLE OF VIMIERO 21st August 1808 In August 1808, the French were at the high point of their power in the Iberian peninsula. The newly arrived British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley didn't seem to pose much of a threat to French dominance. A French army under General Junot, Duke of Abrantes, set out to throw the impudent islanders back into the sea. Wellesley's army was organised into 8 infantry brigades, most of which he arranged on a long, curved ridge with their right flank close to the sea. Below the inland end of the ridge was the village of Vimiero, which was covered by a lower hill, on which Wellesley placed 2 more brigades. Beyond the village, a further tall ridge curved back towards the sea. Only a few troops were placed on this ridge, as there was no water to be had there. The valleys in front of the British positions were broken and wooded and Wellesley had few effective cavalry for scouting duties. The French army appeared on a ridge across the valley, having marched from Torres Vedras, and manoeuvred towards the north and the sparsely manned wing of the British army. However, having descended into the valley, they were lost to sight by the British observers. "The ground was so wooded and broken, that after the French had passed the ridge where they had been first decried, no correct view of their movements could be obtained, and the British, being weak in cavalry, were forced to wait patiently until the columns of attack were close upon them." (Napier) Wellesley ordered his 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th brigades to move across to the northern ridge, leaving only Hill's 1st brigade in its original position. Happily for our heroes, the French were having trouble co-ordinating their attacks, due to the difficulty of the terrain. The first two French attacks were aimed at the detached hill and the village of Vimiero; both were repulsed with heavy loss, though some French grenadiers got as far as the village itself, where there was hand-to-hand fighting. Several guns were abandoned by the retreating French. Meanwhile, one French brigade, led by Solignac, had climbed the northern ridge at its furthest point from the British army and now threatened to roll it up from the flank. Ferguson's brigade met this attack head on and defeated it, but no sooner had he done so than another French brigade, Brennier's, found a way up on to the ridge and appeared behind his flank and that of his supporting brigade, Nightingall's. The British were forced back at first, but soon order reasserted itself and the line was reformed. Much of the fight seemed to have gone out of the French anyway and they were soon put to flight, leaving behind their commander as a prisoner and a number of guns. That was the end of the first major battle in the peninsula in which the British were involved and laid the foundations for the tradition of victory which they were to build up; but it could have gone very differently if the French had been able to co-ordinate their attacks or if Wellesley had not reinforced his left when he did. TO THE WARGAMES TABLE....... The troops involved in the battle were: BRITISH: C-in-C: Lt General Sir Arthur Wellesley 1st Brigade: 1/5, 1/9 and 1/38 (Hill) 2nd Brigade: 1/36, 1/40 and 1/71 (Ferguson) 3rd Brigade: 1/29 and 1/82 (Nightingall) 4th Brigade: 1/6 and 1/32 (Bowes) 6th Brigade: 1/50, 4coys 5/60 and 2/95.(Fane) 7th Brigade: 2/9, 2/43, 2/52 and 2/97 (Anstruther) 8th Brigade: 2nd, 8 coys 1/20 and 2 coys 1/95 (Acland) Cavalry: 240 men of the 20th Lt Dragoons (Taylor) 3 companies of artillery. (Note: 5th Brigade and Portuguese troops were further to the rear and were not involved in the battle. The 60th and 95th have rifles.) FRENCH: C-in-C: General Jean-Andoche Junot, Duke of Abrantes. Delaborde's Division: Brennier's Brigade: 70e Ligne, 2e and 4e Leger. Thomiere's Brigade: 86e Ligne, part of 4e Swiss regt. Loison's Division: Solignac's Brigade: 58e Ligne, 12e and 15e Leger. Charlot's Brigade: 32e and 82e Ligne. Reserve: 4 weak battalions of grenadiers. Margaron's Division: 1e (Provisional) Chasseurs a Cheval, 3e, 4e and 5e Dragoons. 3 companies of artillery. THE GAME You are Sir Arthur Wellesley. At the start of the game, your army is deployed in the position shown on the map, with your left wing anchored on the village and hill of Vimiero. The French appeared briefly on the road from Torres Vedras, but have now disappeared into the close country before you. You have insufficient cavalry to send out scouts to find them. To lose this battle would be disastrous. Yours is the only field army Britain has: do not lose it! NOTES: 1. Both ridges are steep and rocky. Any movement by your troops will be in open columns, which may deploy into line when in position. There should be no movement in line, except to charge. 2. The distance from the southern ridge to the village of Perenza should be not less than 12 moves for your infantry. 3. Cavalry counts disordered if moving on any of the hills. 4. Count each French brigade as 3 battalions, except the grenadier reserve, which has 4. 5. The French guns were light pieces and tended to keep pace with the infantry they were supporting. (This is why they were left behind in the retreat.) 6. The French habit of maintaining battalion columns is often presented as tactical dogma, but this is, in reality, simply the quickest and most convenient method of moving troops around a battlefield. Certainly Solignac's men were trying to deploy into line when defeated by Ferguson. Very often, in the peninsula, the French weren't given the opportunity to deploy out of column as they wanted to by the close presence of the British. French arrival: From move 6 onwards, throw a D10 each move to determine the arrival of French brigades into view: 0 = three brigades. 1 = two brigades. 2 or 3 = one brigade. Then throw a percentage to see where each French brigade arrives: Between moves 6 and 10: Up to 10%, arrives at point B. 11 to 50, arrives at point C 51 to 85% arrives at point D. 86 to 100% arrives at point E. From move 11: Up to 10%, arrives at point A. 11 to 25%, arrives at point B. 26 to 45%, arrives at point C. 46 to 65%, arrives at point D. 66 to 85%, arrives at point E. 86 to 100%, arrives at point F. Keep throwing until 3 French brigades have arrived. If a point of arrival is thrown which is already "occupied", throw again. As soon as the first French brigade appears, place three regiments of the French cavalry at the position shown on the map. The objective of the French formations is to do as much damage to your army as possible; accordingly, they will try to roll up your army from wherever they break your line and capture the village of Vimiero. When the first volley is fired by, or at, a French brigade, throw a D6. If the score is 1 or 2, this is the main French attack; place the fourth brigade, the grenadiers and the remaining cavalry in support of this brigade. If neither of the first two French brigades is leading the main assault, then the third one must be. Refighting the battle this way may just give the poor French a chance. You may even end up with the spectacle of British troops attacking French positions on top of a hill, if you fail to anticipate their attack. Actually, the British attacking up a hill wasn't all that unusual in the Peninsula War, but perhaps that's another game. Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #122 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com